Current Affairs Update – 30 March, 2017

Hello and welcome to exampundit. Here are the important Current Affairs of 30 March, 2017. These are important for the upcoming SBI PO mains, BOB Manipal 2017, NICL AO 2017 and NIACL Assistant 2017.

Current Affairs at a Glance – 30 March, 2017 – Tap to show

India on 29 March 2017 became the net exporter of electricity for the first time, as per
Central Electricity Authority, the designated authority of Union Government for
Cross Border Trade of Electricity.

HDFCBank
on 5 March,2017 announced the launch of an electronic
virtual assistant (EVA), an artificial intelligence-driven chatbot, for
customer services.

The National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI) has
tied up with Reliance Retail to
launch its digital payments solutions such as UPI and BHIM across all retail
stores in Mumbai. There are about 200 Reliance stores (across all formats) in
Mumbai.

Tata Consultancy Services (TCS), has
signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with The Institute of Cost Accountants of India (ICAI).

The third
meeting of the G20 Framework Working
Group concluded on 29 March 2017 in Varanasi,UttarPradesh.

The Indian Institute of Technology, Madras (IITM)
and the Indian Army have signed a
Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to identify the critical technological areas
that can be enhanced in the armed forces, the institute said on Tuesday.

President
Pranab Mukherjee has appointed Sunaina
Singh, currently head of the English and Foreign Languages University
(EFLU) in Hyderabad, as the new vice chancellor
of Nalanda University.

TamilNadu
on 29 March 2017 defeated India ‘B’ by 42 runs in the final to clinch the
Deodhar Trophy.

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Financial and Banking News –

India became net exporter of electricity for first time

India on
29 March 2017 became the net exporter of electricity for the first time, as per
Central Electricity Authority, the designated authority of Union Government for
Cross Border Trade of Electricity.

During the
financial year 2016-17, India exported around 5798 million units to Nepal,
Bangladesh and Myanmar which was 213 Million units more than the import of around
5585 million units from Bhutan.

Export to
Nepal and Bangladesh increased by 2.5 and 2.8 times respectively in last three
years. This export is expected to increase by around 145 MW shortly through 132
kV Katiya (Bihar)– Kusaha (Nepal) and 132 kV Raxaul (Bihar)– Parwanipur (Nepal)
line.

Ever since
the cross border trade of electricity began in mid-1980s, India has been
importing power from Bhutan and marginally exporting to Nepal in radial mode at
33 kV and 132 kV from Bihar and Uttar Pradesh. On an average, Bhutan has been
supplying around 5000- 5500 million units to India.

HDFC Bank launches chatbot Eva for customer services

HDFC Bank
on 5 March,2017 announced the launch of an electronic virtual assistant (EVA),
an artificial intelligence-driven chatbot, for customer services.

Eva is
India’s first AI-based banking chatbot and can answer millions of customer
queries across multiple channels instantly, HDFC Bank said in a statement.

Eva can
assimilate knowledge from thousands of sources and provide answers in simple
language in less than 0.4 seconds, it said.

“Within
the first few days of its launch, Eva has answered over 1 lakh queries from
thousands of customers from 17 countries across the globe,” it claimed.

With the
launch of Eva, it said, bank’s customers can get information on its products
and services instantaneously and it also becomes smarter as it learns through
its customer interactions.

NPCI ties up with Reliance Retail

The
National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI) has tied up with Reliance Retail
to launch its digital payments solutions such as UPI and BHIM across all retail
stores in Mumbai. There are about 200 Reliance stores (across all formats) in
Mumbai.

The
digital payment solutions will be rolled out across the country soon.

A P Hota,
Managing Director and CEO of NPCI, said that the mission is to drive digital
payments in the country and to empower all retail stores, starting with
Reliance Retail, through payment apps, including NPCI’s BHIM app, which has
witnessed about 20 million downloads since the launch.

Digital
payments at retail stores are being supported by Innoviti Payment solutions and
Axis Bank.

Tata
Consultancy Services (TCS), has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with
The Institute of Cost Accountants of India (ICAI).

As part of
the MoU, ICAI will deploy and leverage TCS’ Digital Content Market Place
Platform – Digital HUB to drive the institute’s digital transformation efforts.
According to a release, ICAI’s digitization efforts through TCS iON Digital HUB
will aim to provide improved services to students & members allowing them
easy access to the vast knowledge base of the institute.

TCS iON
will bring Vocational & Skill Courses to ICAI students & its members
through iON Digital HUB. Both organisations will launch courses on “ERP Basics”
specifically designed for ICAI students to enhance their skills in this area.
Additional Skill Certification courses will be introduced to ICAI students over
the coming months.

Non-financial new related to India and states –

3rd G20 Framework Working Group meet concluded in Varanasi

The third
meeting of the G20 Framework Working Group concluded on 29 March 2017 in
Varanasi, Uttar Pradesh.

The meet
witnessed discussions on the current global economic conjecture as well as
deliberations on the policy options that countries can pursue to counter the
challenges.

The focus
of the meeting was to deliberate on the inclusive growth agenda of the G20 and
formulation of a framework for country specific inclusive growth policies.

In the
two-day meeting, officials from more than 30 countries discussed the growth
strategy to raise the world GDP by 2 per cent till 2018.

The Indian
Institute of Technology, Madras (IITM) and the Indian Army have signed a
Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to identify the critical technological areas
that can be enhanced in the armed forces, the institute said on Tuesday.

IITM
Director Bhaskar Ramamurthi and Deputy Chief of Army Staff (P&S) Lt. Gen.
Subrata Saha signed the MoU in this regard, a statement issued here said.

“The
objective was to facilitate prestigious institutions such as the IITs to
achieve a better understanding of the critical technology requirements of the
Indian Army through seamless interaction between the IITM faculty and the Army
officers,” the statement said.

Appointments –

Sunaina Singh Appointed Vice Chancellor of Nalanda University

President
Pranab Mukherjee has appointed Sunaina Singh, currently head of the English and
Foreign Languages University (EFLU) in Hyderabad, as the new vice chancellor of
Nalanda University.

Sources
have confirmed that Sunaina Singh’s appointment order was signed off on by the
president on Tuesday. Her appointment letter reached Nalanda University this
evening.

As per
rules, the president has to choose the vice-chancellor from a group of at least
three names forwarded by the university’s governing board. As per sources, 135
names were screened, while six applicants were called for interviews. Out of
the three names forwarded to the president, her name was at the top, The Wire
has learnt.

Nalanda
University is a flagship initiative formed under India’s Act East policy, which
was first proposed at the East Asia Summit in 2007. It was envisioned as a
project to evoke India’s historical and cultural linkages with South East Asia
and beyond.

Sports –

Tamil Nadu beat India ‘B’ to win Deodhar Trophy

Tamil Nadu
on 29 March 2017 defeated India ‘B’ by 42 runs in the final to clinch the
Deodhar Trophy.

The final
of the 50-overs cricket tournament was played at the ACA-VDCA stadium in
Vishakhapatnam.

With the
victory, Tamil Nadu became the first state side to win the three-team one-day
tournament.

Turkey’s Elvan Abeylegesse stripped of Olympic medals

Turkish
runner Elvan Abeylegesse on 29 March 2017 was stripped of two Olympic silver
medals and one world silver.

The
decision was taken after a re-analysis of an in-competition doping test dating
back to 2007.

The
International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF) in a statement stated
that Abeylegesse’s “results from August 25, 2007, to August 25, 2009, have been
removed, with the 34-year-old retrospectively banned from September 29, 2015,
to September 28, 2017.”

Abeylegesse
tested positive on 25 August 2007 after winning silver at the 2007 World
Athletics Championships in Osaka. It also signifies that she is set to be
stripped not only of that world silver but also the 5000m and 10000m silver
medals she won at the 2008 Beijing Olympics.